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Andrew Taylor

Biography

Andrew Taylor

Andrew Taylor has been a full-time writer since 1981 and has written over 20 books. He has been described by The Times as "One of Britain's best writers of psychological suspense."

Having decided to become a writer at the age of 10, he claims that it was his newly recognised facility for writing stories, teamed with the idea that a writer's life consisted of not wearing a tie to work, that first attracted him to the career. It was the discovery of Sherlock Holmes at the tender of age of eight and earlier yet with Enid Blyton's Hurrah for Little Noddy, that his love for crime novels was incited. "Another thing I like about crime fiction," he asserts, "is its lack of pretension. It sets out to entertain --- it's fiction with its sleeves rolled up."

In the years preceding Andrew Taylor's breakthrough in the literary world, he worked as a boat-builder, wages clerk, teacher, librarian, labourer and freelance publisher's editor. Since then, Public Lending Right estimates place his British public library readership in the top one percent.

His novels include the Dougal and Lydmouth crime series, the psychological thriller THE BARRED WINDOW and his groundbreaking Roth Trilogy, now published in one volume as REQUIEM FOR AN ANGEL. He also reviews and writes about crime fiction, particularly in the Independent. Awards received for his books include the John Creasey Memorial award from the Crime Writer's Association and an Edgar Scroll from the Mystery Writers of America, both for Caroline Minuscule, and the CWA's Ellis Peters Historical Dagger. The Roth Trilogy was adapted into the acclaimed ITV drama "Fallen Angel." THE AMERICAN BOY was a 2005 Richard & Judy Book Club choice.

He lives in the Forest of Dean with his wife, a photographer and their two children.

Andrew Taylor

Books by Andrew Taylor

by Andrew Taylor - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Two young girls plot a murder by witchcraft. Soon afterwards a government clerk dies painfully under mysterious circumstances. His colleague, James Marwood, is asked to investigate, but the task brings unexpected dangers. Meanwhile, architect Cat Hakesby is working for a merchant who lives on Slaughter Street, where the air smells of blood and a captive Barbary lion prowls the stables. Then a prestigious new commission arrives. Cat must design a Poultry House for the woman that the King loves most in all the world. Unbeknownst to all, at the heart of this lies a royal secret so explosive that it could not only rip apart England but change the entire face of Europe.

by Andrew Taylor - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

No one in England wants a return to the bloody days of the Civil War. But Oliver Cromwell’s son, Richard, has abandoned his exile and slipped back into England. The consequences could be catastrophic. James Marwood, a traitor’s son turned government agent, is tasked with uncovering Cromwell’s motives. But his assignment is complicated by his friend --- the regicide’s daughter, Cat Lovett --- who knew the Cromwells as a child, and who now seems to be hiding a secret of her own about the family. Both Marwood and Cat know they are putting themselves in great danger. And when they find themselves on a top secret mission in the Palace of Whitehall, they realize they are risking their lives…and could even be sent to the block for treason.

by Andrew Taylor - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

London, 1667. In the Court of Charles II, it’s a dangerous time to be alive --- a wrong move may lead to disgrace, exile or death. Therefore, the discovery of a body at Clarendon House, the palatial home of one of the highest courtiers in the land, could have catastrophic consequences. James Marwood, a traitor’s son, is ordered to cover up the murder. But the dead man is Edward Alderley, the cousin of one of Marwood’s acquaintances. Cat Lovett had every reason to want her cousin dead. Since his murder, she has vanished, and all the evidence points to her as the killer. Marwood is determined to clear Cat’s name and discover who really killed Alderley. But time is running out for everyone. If he makes a mistake, it could threaten not only the government but the King himself.

by Andrew Taylor - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

The Great Fire has ravaged London, wreaking destruction and devastation wherever its flames spread. Now, guided by the incorruptible Fire Court, the city is slowly rebuilding. James Marwood, son of a traitor, is thrust into this treacherous environment when his ailing father claims to have stumbled upon a murdered woman --- in the very place where the Fire Court sits. Then his father is run down and killed. Determined to uncover the truth, Marwood turns to the one person he can trust --- Cat Lovett, the daughter of a despised regicide. But then comes a third death…and Marwood and Cat are forced to confront a vicious and increasingly desperate killer whose actions threaten the future of the city itself.

by Andrew Taylor - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

The Great Fire rages through London, consuming everything in its path. Even the impregnable cathedral of St. Paul’s is engulfed in flames and reduced to ruins. Among the crowds watching its destruction is James Marwood, son of a traitor and reluctant government informer. In the aftermath of the fire, the body of a man is discovered in the ashes of St. Paul’s. There is a stab wound to his neck, and his thumbs have been tied behind his back. Marwood hunts the killer through London’s devastated streets where before too long a second murder is uncovered. At a time of dangerous internal dissent, Marwood’s investigation will lead him into treacherous waters --- and across the path of a determined and vengeful young woman.

by Andrew Taylor - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Edward Savill, working in London as an agent for a wealthy American, receives word that his estranged wife, Augusta, has been killed in France. She leaves behind 10-year-old Charles, who is brought to England to Charnwood Court, a house in the country leased by a group of émigré refugees. Savill is sent to retrieve the boy, though it proves easier to reach Charnwood than to leave. And only when Savill arrives there does he discover that Charles is mute. The boy has witnessed horrors beyond his years, but what terrible secret haunts him so deeply that he is unable to utter a word?

by Andrew Taylor - Crime, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Edward Savill, a London clerk from the American Department, is assigned to New York to investigate the claims of dispossessed loyalists caught on the wrong side of the American War of Independence. The discovery of a body in the notorious slums of Canvas Town thrusts Savill into a murder inquiry. But in the escalating violence of a desperate city, why does one death matter? Because the secret this killing hides could be the key to power for whoever uncovers it…

by Andrew Taylor - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery

1786, Jerusalem College, Cambridge. The ghost of murdered Sylvia Whichcote has been sighted by Frank Oldershaw, a fellow commoner. When his mother employs John Holdsworth, author of "The Anatomy of Ghosts" --- an account of why ghosts are mere delusion --- to investigate, the uneasy status quo at Jerusalem is rapidly torn apart.